阅读理解

　　If a person forgets names, places or facts－and has trouble with everyday things like reading or shopping－it may not mean you are getting old．It could be Alzheimer’s disease．So it’s important to see a doctor as soon as you can．

　　There is no cure for Alzheimer’s．But a drug called ARICEPT has been used by millions of people to help their symptoms(症状)．

　　In studies, ARICEPT has been proved to work for Alzheimer’s．It has helped people improve their memory over time．It has also helped them to keep doing everyday things on their own．

　　Ask your doctor if ARICEPT is right for you or your loved one．It is the Number One drug for Alzheimer’s in the world．The sooner you know it’s Alzheimer’s, the better ARICEPT can help．

　　ARICEPT is good for many but may not be good for everyone．Some people may experience not sleeping well, feeling very tired, or not wanting to eat．In studies, these side effects weren’t serious at all and went away over time．Some people taking ARICEPT may feel light-headed．In this case you should tell your doctors because your condition may get worse．

阅读理解

　　“Mum, what does it mean when someone tells you that they have a skeleton(骨骼)in the closet(衣橱)?” Jessica asked．“A skeleton in the closet?” her mother paused thoughtfully．“Well, it’s something that you would rather not have anyone else know about．For example, if in the past, someone in Dad’s family had been arrested for stealing a horse, it would be ‘a skeleton in his family’s closet’．He really wouldn’t want any neighbor to know about it．”

　　“Why pick on my family?” Jessica’s father said with anger．“Your family history isn’t so good, you know．Wasn’t your great-great-grandfather a prisoner who was transported to Australia for his crimes?” “Yes, but people these days say that you are not a real Australian unless your ancestors arrived as prisoners．” “Gosh, sorry I asked．I think I understand now,” Jessica cut in before things grew worse．

　　After dinner, the house was very quiet．Jessica’s parents were still quite angry with each other．Her mother was ironing clothes and every now and then she glared at her husband, who hid behind his newspaper pretending to read．When she finished, she gathered the freshly pressed clothes in her arms and walked to Jessica’s closet．Just as she opened the door and reached in to hang a skirt, a bony arm stuck out from the dark depths and a bundle of white bones fell to the floor．Jessica’s mother sank in a faint(晕倒), waking only when Jessica put a cold, wet cloth on her forehead．She looked up to see the worried faces of her husband and daughter．

　　“What happened? Where am I?” she asked．“You just destroyed the school’s skeleton, Mum,” explained Jessica．“I brought it home to help me with my health project．I meant to tell you, but it seemed that as soon as I mentioned skeletons and closets, it caused a problem between you and Dad．” Jessica looked in amazement as her parents began to laugh madly．“They’re both crazy,” she thought．

阅读理解

　　As a parent of an overweight child, it is your duty to help them lose weight and develop healthy eating and exercise habits．However, correcting the diet habits of your children can become increasingly harder as they age, especially as they become increasingly aware of bad foods like McDonalds and other fast food choices．For this reason, you should aim to help your child lose weight early, and let them grow up with healthy food and exercise habits so that they can make smart decisions as they grow up．

　　?Avoid pushing new diets on your child．

　　Teach them the basics of good nutrition and exercise, so that he or she has the necessary tools to make the right decisions．You need to facilitate(使容易)that rather than simply force it on your child．Diets may seem like the answer at first, but it is much more useful to teach them correct eating and good nutrition, so you can be a good role model rather than the person that forced a diet on him or her．

　　?________．

　　Find ways to get your child more active without stressing him or her out．There are plenty of ways to exercise in a sport or after school activities．Buy your child a skateboard, roller skates, a bicycle, or some other tool so that they can use to enjoy exercise on their own terms．And never force physical activity on them if you do not want the exercise idea to be completely rejected．

　　?Avoid projecting your feelings onto your child．

　　You may have had body issues as a child, but you do not need to project this onto your child, who is probably already dealing with issues．You do not want to create self image problems in your child if you can help it．Let your child develop his or her own self image rather than forcing your self image issues onto him or her．

阅读理解

　　The Oxford English Dictionary(OED)is generally regarded as the Rolls Royce of English dictionaries．So when the OED recently announced that the latest update to its online dictionary included many “initialisms”, like OMG(oh my God)and LOL(laugh out loud), a lot of people went a little nuts．

　　The news that the OED has used initialisms is shocking, but also, on reflection, not surprising at all．Anyone familiar with text messaging has seen these abbreviations(缩写)before．There are many texters, and their number is growing．How, then, can anyone pretend to be surprised that textspeak is becoming mainstream?

　　There is nothing wrong with the OED adding the above entries．In fact, it would be irresponsible not to make such additions．With so many people actively using shortened forms of language on mobile phones, someone has to step up and record and explain this usage．

　　Some complained that the OED is just trying to be cool．Maybe the OED wants to be popular with young people in order to sell books．Every time I hear a native speaker of English say things like, “She has less problems than me,” I cringe(难为情)．But, whether I like it or not, this usage is quickly becoming acceptable in the spoken idiom．

　　Be aware, however, written English is still useful．People who are in school, or about to take exams, need to know that textspeak can’t be used in academic writing．

　　As a linguist(语言学家), I’m glad to see these informal words in our culture enter the pages of online dictionaries, as long as these reference works remind us of the social conventions governing their usage．

阅读理解

　　As the saying goes, once you’ve learnt to ride a bike, you’ll never forget．The next step is to feel confident; our quick guide below will help, but a bit of training can be invaluable．When you’re confident about what you’re doing, you get a lot more pleasure out of it．

　　Although you can get started with remarkably little in the way of knowledge, equipment and skills, you’ll find a little of each will be extremely helpful．Search around on this　website and you’ll pick up a lot quickly．If you already have a bike and it’s been lying around for a few years, you need to make sure it is still safe to ride．Start with the following checks：

　　Both brakes work well．

　　Both tires are pumped up．

　　The saddle is at the correct height(as a rough guide, when sitting on the saddle your heel should rest on the pedal with your knee very slightly bent)．

　　The handle bars are tightened so they do not move when pressure is applied from the top．

　　The gears(齿轮)work smoothly．

　　If you are unsure you should take it to your nearest bike shop for a quick service．

　　Once you have a bike, the next thing is to ride it safely and that means with confidence．There are a few principles though that will help when you start out．

　　Off road routes and trails are a good way to increase your bike handling skills, especially if you have not ridden a bike for a few years, so find your nearest national cycle network route, former railway cycle path, local park which allows cycling．If you are specifically looking to learn the finer skills of mountain biking, then a mountain bike training course could well help you on your way, whether you’re a complete beginner, or someone with more experience．

　　Once you have gained confidence in cycling, you may want to venture(冒险)further and this normally means that you will need to cycle on the road, see our SKILLS OF THE ROAD page for more information．

阅读理解

　　It was something she had dreamed of since she was five．Finally, after years of training and intensive(密集的)workouts, Deborah Duffey was going to compete in her first high school basketball game．The goals of becoming an outstanding player and playing college ball were never far from Deborah’s mind．

　　The game was against Mills High School．With 1∶42 minutes left in the game, Deborah’s team led by one point．A player of Mills had possession of the ball, and Deborah ran to guard against her．As Deborah shuffled sideways to block the player, her knee went out and she collapsed on the court in burning pain．Just like that, Deborah’s season was over．

　　After suffering(拖着脚)the bad injury, Deborah found that, for the first time in her life, she was in a situation beyond her control．Game after game, she could do nothing but sit on the sidelines watching others play the game that she loved so much．

　　Injuries limited Deborah’s time on the court as she hurt her knees three more times in the next five years．She had to spend countless hours in a physical therapy(治疗；疗法)clinic to receive treatment．Her frequent visits there gave her a passion and respect for the profession．And Deborah began to see a new light in her life．

　　Currently a senior in college, Deborah focuses on pursuing a degree in physical therapy．After she graduates, Deborah plans to use her knowledge to educate people how to best take care of their bodies and cope with the feelings of hopelessness that she remembers so well．

阅读理解

　　In the kitchen of my mother’s houses there has always been a wooden stand(木架)with a small notepad(记事本)and a hole for a pencil．

　　I’m looking for paper on which to note down the name of a book I am recommending to my mother．Over forty years since my earliest memories of the kitchen pad and pencil, five houses later, the current paper and pencil look the same as they always did．Surely it can’t be the same pencil? The pad is more modern, but the wooden stand is definitely the original one．

　　“I’m just amazed you still have the same stand for holding the pad and pencil after all these years．” I say to her, walking back into the living-room with a sheet of paper and the pencil．“You still use a pencil．Can’t you afford a pen?”

　　My mother replies a little sharply．“It works perfectly well．I’ve always kept the stand in the kitchen．I never knew when I might want to note down an idea, and I was always in the kitchen in these days．”

　　Immediately I can picture her, hair wild, blue housecoat covered in flour, a wooden spoon in one hand, the pencil in the other, her mouth moving silently．My mother smiles and says, “One day I was cooking and watching baby Pauline, and I had a brilliant thought, but the stand was empty．One of the children must have taken the paper．So I just picked up the breadboard and wrote it all down on the back．It turned out to be a real breakthrough for solving the mathematical problem I was working on．”

　　This story-which happened before I was born－reminds me how extraordinary my mother was, and is also a gifted mathematician．I feel embarrassed that I complain about not having enough child-free time to work．Later, when my mother is in the bathroom, I go into her kitchen and turn over the breadboards．Sure enough, on the back of the smallest one, are some penciled marks I recognize as mathematics．Those symbols have traveled unaffected through fifty years, rooted in the soil of a cheap wooden breadboard, invisible(看不到的)exhibits at every meal．

阅读理解

Light for the City

　　Edison and his assistants came to New York to set up an electric power system．They hoped it would provide enough electricity to light up a part of the great city．

　　They brought several machines with them．These were called generators, which produced electricity power for lamps in Edison’s building．Soon there were lights for the building．Edison lived in a room facing the street and he often worked over night．The lights burned brightly and steadily and he often worked over night．People often came and stopped their horse-drawn carriage to look．Everyone knew that Thomas Edison was in town．First, the inventor and his assistants produced several large generators．A great deal of power would be needed to light up even a small part of the city．Then the workers were busy digging deep trenches in the hard earth below the city streets, and Edison had fourteen miles of wire laid into the trenches．The wire connected each building to a generator．

　　Setting up an electric power system was not an easy job．It took a year and a half．In September, 1882, the job was finished．

　　A small group of men stood around Edison inside the power house．The big moment came at last．The inventor, taking a deep breath, pulled a switch．The electric lights flashed up．

　　“Very good! Very good!” a man nearby shouted to praise Edison for what he had done．

　　“Sir,” said Edison, “this is only the beginning!” And Edison was right．Soon Edison's lamp were lighting up cities all over the world．

阅读理解

　　The first newspapers were written by hand and put up on walls in public places．The earliest daily newspaper was started in Rome in 59 BC．In the 700’s the world’s first printed newspaper was published．Europe didn’t have a regularly published newspaper until 1609, when one was started in Germany．

　　The first regularly published newspaper in the English language was printed in Amsterdam in 1620．In 1621, an English newspaper was started in London and was published once a week．The first daily English newspaper was the Daily Courant(每日新闻)．It came out in March 1702．

　　In 1690, Benjamin Harris printed the first American newspaper in Boston．But not long after it was first published, the government stopped the paper．In 1704, John Campbell started The Boston Newsletter(波士顿新闻通讯), the first newspaper published in the American colonies．By 1760, the colonies had more than thirty daily newspapers．There are now about 1,800 daily papers in the United Stateds．

　　Today, as a group, English language newspapers have the largest circulation(发行量)in the world．But the largest circulation for a newspaper is that of the Japanese newspaper Asahi Dhimbun(朝日新闻)．It sells more than 11 million copies every day．

阅读理解

　　Health experts have long worried about the increasing rate of obesity in kids．It’s an important concern：Being very overweight or obese during childhood can lead to serious problems normally seen in adults, such as diabetes and high blood pressure．Poor diets and a lack of exercise are usually the causes．But would you ever have imagined there might be a connection between the bacteria that lived in your guts(内脏)when you were a baby and the chance that you would become overweight?

　　Scientists in Finland recently found just such a link．In a recent study, they showed that overweight kids had different species of bacteria living in their guts．

　　You probably think of bacteria only as germs that can make you sick．While it’s true that some bacteria can make people ill, your body actually depends on some types of bacteria to help you digest food and extract nutrients from it．These “good” bacteria live in your guts, where they process the food you eat．

　　Human babies get these bacterial helpers from their moms．When a baby is born, some of the bacteria in the mother move into the baby’s body．Growing babies get additional “good” bacteria from the milk their mothers produce．And it turns out the bacteria might play an important role in regulating weight just six years later．

　　So how could these bacteria affect weight? The researchers still haven’t tested that question, but future tests might lead to an answer．